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China's ability for air and sea power projection in its neighbourhood is significant and growing, and its first aircraft carrier is another indicator. The carrier would provide China the ability to project its power even farther.

India must urgently explore a variety of options to restore deterrence vis-à-vis China. This first thing is to back Japan. India also has to work on a range of options including economic and hard options. It must also take a fresh look at reinvigorating its ties with Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Singapore and the littoral states.

To draw lines on the map along the ancient trade routes of China and to claim that they marked an exclusive zone of trade and dense economic relationship centering around and led by China will beg a number of questions. Does it mean that countries within the zone will sever their trade and economic relations with countries outside the zone?

China has published a White Paper on defence. But it sheds no new light on the PLA, its objectives or the military modernization. So, if China is serious about reducing the regional suspicion about its rise, it has to do something more meaningful.

The Fourth Plenum of the CPCCC discussed at length a rather unusual theme -- the "Rule of Law", a sensitive topic. This has led to many speculations. Is China looking at a totally independent judiciary? What would be the red lines for the legal system? And what are the real motives for such a move?

A new Pew Research Survey indicates that the US still continues to be perceived in positive light and that a conflict between China and its neighbours over territorial disputes is likely. A new Pew Research Survey indicates that the US still continues to be perceived in positive light and that a conflict between China and its neighbours over territorial disputes is likely.

It appears that China would continue to augment its growing cyber warfare capabilities. And when complimented with an "Informationised" military and technologies like the ASAT weapons, it becomes a great concern not only for the U.S but also for India.

China sees its primary focus as on neutralising the US- Japan challenge on its eastern seaboard. To that end, maintaining an even keel in its relationship with India makes good sense.

Sino-Indian relations will feature both competition and cooperation. How we fare depends on the policy choices we make and the skill with which we employ them.

An erratic US President Trump, with a poor grasp of policy, can give Beijing a free run not only in South-east Asia, but Central and West Asia as well

A military base in Djibouti is a useful asset for China, as it denotes both geopolitical heft and economic stakeholdership in the Indian Ocean.

In the Chinese defence paper, though nothing is directly indicative of India, the implications are quite clear with the focus on open seas protection and unbending approach to territorial disputes. Urgency and imagination will be key in tackling Chinese ambitions in what is considered New Delhi's backyard.

Modi must now bridge the growing strategic gap with China through both internal and external balancing. This must run parallel to a significant expansion of economic cooperation with Beijing at the bilateral and regional levels. But can Modi play three-dimensional chess with China?

We are yet to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Chinese incursions. But the rhetoric that is coming out from New Delhi and Beijing now seems to suggest that the issue may quietly die down. As it is, it comes on the eve of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's visit to Beijing, and, more Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Delhi.

The Shanghai spirit moved into the next phase of its development as the fourth summit of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) began at Tashkent, Uzbekistan on May 17, 2004. From a security-centred organisation that came into being in June 2001,

India and China's space missions tend to be real space firsts, rather than duplications of the US' and Soviet Union's Cold War space firsts.

Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan's tri-nation goodwill tour started with Pakistan on March 22, 2004 and ended with Thailand, with an in-between five-day visit to India from March 26 to 30.

China's existing stand of moving ahead with its aggressive stance on nuclear policy clearly stems from Indo-US nuclear deal, which according to China, seriously damages the integrity and effectiveness of non-proliferation thereby setting dangerous precedence for other countries.

In light of Africa's increasing dependency on and trouble with Chinese actors, African leaders are beginning to look beyond China in an attempt to diversify. India and the long-standing presence of Indian businesses in the continent can help Africa deal with the losses from China.

Though South China Sea has remained contested for several decades, the recent tensions surrounding these waters have heightened the potential for it to emerge as a major flashpoint. China's recent steps have made the involvement of external powers very likely.

China's Air Force (PLAAF) conducted the test flight of its new generation stealth fighter J-20 on January 11, 2011. Whether the J-20 matches the F-22 (latest US stealth fighter) or not, the Chinese flight-test has spot-lighted the spiralling arms race in Asia and beyond.

Two examples-the first from the aviation and the second from the renewable energy industries-demonstrate how China has used unfair rules and regulations to fuel its meteoric rise.

If New Delhi lets domestic political passions overwhelm the need for a carefully crafted strategy towards Pakistan, it will find the Afghan dynamic will soon make matters a lot more difficult for India.

Since 9/11, both China and the US have one concern in common - the threat of 'Islamic' terrorism. On December 15 2003, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued a list of four terrorist organisations and eleven terrorists that pose a threat to China's security.

The successful tests of Chinese nuclear device WU-14 has brought the emphasis back on deploying effective ballistic missile defences. The Chinese test is also definitely going to speed up the US' quest for enhancing both its offensive and defensive technological capabilities.

Bilateral relations between China and Bangladesh will strengthen further once the road and rail links are established between the two countries through Myanmar. The prospects for the road-rail links have brightened after Myanmar cleared the transit facility, the Chinese envoy for Bangladesh has said.

While declaring that China opposes all forms of terrorism, its foreign ministry asserts that it seeks to foster amity. Does Beijing really think it can present itself as an honest broker even as it acts like a behind-the-scenes instigator?

This brief makes an assessment of the data-sharing arrangement between China and India as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding for sharing hydrological information on the Brahmaputra river system, aimed at facilitating advance warning for floods in India during monsoon. Using hydro-meteorological data, this brief assesses the arrangement and identifies its limitations, primary of which is the wrong choice for the location of measuring stat

India-China relations appear to be showing signs of easing, particularly with successive high-level exchanges between the two governments since late 2024. Given the positive momentum in bilateral ties in the past few months, there is cautious optimism in certain quarters that some kind of détente might be on the anvil. Against this backdrop, this brief surveys a sampling of current domestic discourse in China around issues related to India. It f

This paper examines China and India’s economic engagements at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels. The evaluation is made in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the mega-regional trade agreement in the east in which both nations are parties. The paper argues that irrespective of the nature of the two countries’ relationship, at its core is not cooperation, but mutual mistrust aggravated by Ch

Territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea and between Japan and South Korea over the Takeshima/Dokdo islands in the Sea of Japan have,particularly in the second half of 2012, given rise to concerns about peace and security in North East Asia. Territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea and between Japan and South Korea over the Takes

China's relation with Pakistan has become one of the most comprehensive one that Beijing has with any country. The strategic imperatives of developing Pakistan as a bulwark against India has been among Beijing's overriding objectives in influencing the balance of power in South Asia.

Xi's visit to the United Kingdom was not about trade and investment only. It has an important strategic component, viz, shaping China as a truly global power. Recall that the end station of both the land and maritime components of the Belt Road Initiative is Europe. As China shifts its economy towards high-end manufacturing and services, it is targeting the European market, where its two largest partners are Germany and UK.

In China, the regime's vision and capacity to transform the society and state has made a lot of difference, said Mr Harish Khare, Senior Associate Editor and Chief of the Delhi Bureau of The Hindu. Contemporary Chinese elite, cohesive as they are, have played a vital role in shaping-up the country.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is now revealing, more assertively than before, its high expectations with regard to the opening up of Sino-Indian border trade specifically through revival of Yadong (Shigatse, Tibet) Trade Post, which was set up on May 10,

This year’s defence budget marks an increase of 8.1 percent from last year. China has justified its defence budget by arguing that its defence spending is less than 1.5 percent of its GDP, but that argument is not going to go down well with its neighbours.

Tibet is where India and China meet. It is through Tibet that China manages its relations with India, using the boundary dispute to keep New Delhi off-balance. India is also where the most revered Tibetan, the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile. Having failed to negotiate his return, there is now a two-pronged effort by China to deal with the consequences of the Dalai Lama’s passing and his possible reincarnation outside Tibet: to m

Extraordinary events in geopolitics have redefined China's contemporary history: the breakup of Soviet Union; the end of Cold War; and China's realignment with Russia and the erstwhile states of the Soviet Union.

The 13th round of military commander’s talks between India and China will take place at Moldo today.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is central to the country’s ambitious policy reorientation. The energy sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of all investments under the BRI, with significant geostrategic and geoeconomic implications. In recent years, China has adopted a “greening the BRI” strategy, emphasising green energy projects. This brief analyses China’s BRI investments in the energy sector to establish the potential trend

Over the last two decades, China has established a significant economic presence in most African countries. Its lucrative economic investment package, flexible political approach, and focused big-ticket development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provide an ostensibly massive opportunity to African countries. However, the unilateral nature of the initiative, the lack of transparency and accountability to African countries, and t

China’s aircraft carrier programme anchors its transformation from a continental to a maritime power. The Liaoning, Shandong, and EMALS-equipped Fujian together underscore Beijing’s intent to operate far from its shores, blending audacious innovation with disciplined, experience-driven learning. Unlike the United States’ (US) mature carrier operations model, China’s EMALS effort remains exploratory yet strategically purposeful, aimed at d

China’s growing military profile in Africa is following its economic footprint in the continent as exemplified by the Chinese “logistics support base” in Djibouti. It is moving towards an ever more expansive definition of its global interests, as its business in Africa pushes it to create new mechanisms for securing those interests, including its own growing military footprint abroad. This brief examines the changing nature of China’s inv

The ‘new model’ is about getting the US to accept China as an equal